• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2016

A concrete silo plays an important role in subsurface low- and intermediate-level waste facilities (LILW) by limiting the release of radionuclides from the silo geosphere. However, due to several physical and chemical processes the performance of the concrete structure decreases over time and consequently the concrete loses its effectiveness as a barrier against groundwater inflow and the release of radionuclides. Although a number of processes are responsible for degradation of the silo concrete, it is determined that the main cause is corrosion of the reinforcing steel. Therefore, the time it takes for the silo concrete to fail is calculated based on two factors: the initiation time of corrosion, defined as the time it takes for chloride ions to penetrate through the concrete cover, and the propagation time of corrosion. This paper aims to estimate the time taken for concrete to fail in a LILW disposal facility. Based on the United States Department of Energy (DOE) approach, which indicates that concrete fails completely once 50% of the volume of the reinforcing steel corrodes, the corrosion propagation time is calculated to be 640 years, which is the time it takes for corrosion to penetrate 0.640 cm into the reinforcing steel. In addition to the corrosion propagation time, a diffusion equation is used to calculate the initiation time of corrosion, yielding a time of 1284 years, which post-dates the closure time of the LILW disposal facility if we also consider the 640 years of corrosion propagation. The electrochemical conditions of the passive rebar surface were modified using an acceleration method. This is a useful approach because it can reduce the test time significantly by accelerating the transport of chlorides. Using instrumental analysis, the physicochemical properties of corrosion products were determined, thereby confirming that corrosion occurred, although we did not observe significant cracks in, or expansion of, the concrete. These results are consistent with those of Smartet al., 2006 who reported that corrosion products are easily compressed, meaning that cracks cannot be discerned by eye. Therefore, it is worth noting that rebar corrosion does not strongly influence the hydraulic conductivity of the concrete.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.389-398
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• 2013

Studies of the thermal properties of various rock types obtained from several locations in Korea have revealed significant differences in thermal conductivities in the thermal response test (TRT), which has been applied to the design of a ground-source heat pump system. In the present study, we aimed to compare the thermal conductivities of the samples with those obtained by TRT. The thermal conductivities of soil and rock samples were 1.32W/m-K and 2.88 W/m-K, respectively. In comparison, the measured TRT value for thermal conductivity was 3.13W/m-K, which is 10% higher than that of the rock samples. We consider that this difference may be due to groundwater flow because abundant groundwater is present in the study area and has a hydraulic conductivity of 0.01. It is natural to consider that the object of TRT is to calculate the original thermal conductivity of the ground, following the line source theory. Therefore, we conclude that the TRT applied to a domestic standing column type well is not suitable for a line source theory. To solve these problems, values of thermal conductivity measured directly from samples should be used in the design of ground-source heat pump systems.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.491-499
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• 2008

It is really urgent to develop wastewater treatment system which is economically efficient, occupies small area for buildup, can be easily operated, discharges small amount of sludge due to the more strict water quality standard, the expensive water and energy cost and so on. This study on treatment of wastewater including nonbiodegadable materials using white-rot fungus biofilm were designed to investigate the submerged type of biofilm, hydraulic retention times, recycle rates, and module turning times. Removal efficiencies of fully exposed biofilm type in atmosphere are similar to submerged biofilm of aeration type. The optimum conditions of white-rot fungus biofilm of fully exposed type in atmosphere are HRT 3$\sim$4 hr, recycle rate 6$\sim$10 Q, module turning times 0.5$\sim$2 times/min. At this time, removal efficiencies of organics were COD$_{Cr}$ 65.0$\sim$69.9%, NBDCOD 70.4$\sim$72.7%, BOD$_5$ 88.8$\sim$90.1%, SS 84.2$\sim$90.4%. Moreover average effluent concentration of BOD$_5$(8.9 mg/L) satisfied water quality standard of heavy water(BOD$_5$ less than 10 mg/L) but concentration of NBDCOD(29.6 mg/L) was higher than water quality standard of heavy water(NBDCOD less than 20 mg/L).

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2005

It has been established that soft error of high precision electronic circuits can be induced by alpha particles emitted from the naturally occurring radioactive impurities such as U, and Th. As the electronic circuits have recently become lower dimension and higher density, these alpha-particle emitting radioactive impurities have to be strictly controlled. The aim of this study is to develop of NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis) and gamma-spectrometry to improve the analytical sensitivity and precision of U and Th. A new NAA method has been established using the HTS (Hydrulic transfer system) irradiation facility which has been used to produce radioisotopes for industries and medicines instead of the PTS (pneumatic transfer system) irradiation facility which has been used in general NAA. When the ultratrace impurities have to be analyzed by NAA, background gamma-ray spectra induced from $^{222}Rn$ and its progenies in air is serious problem. This unstable background has been eliminated or stabilized by the use of a nitrogen purging system. Ultra trace amounts of U (0.1 ng/g) and Th (0.01 ng/g) in high purity silica used for EMC could be analyzed by the use of HTS-NAA and low background gamma-spectrometry.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.424-429
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• 2018

In this study, an expansion joint that is susceptible to waterhammer was tested for its vibration durability. The operation data for the hydraulic actuator was the expansion length of the expansion joint when the waterhammer occurred. In the case of the vibration durability test, the internal temperature status of the expansion joint was assumed to be a stress factor and a lifespan prediction model was assumed to follow the Arrhenius model. A test was carried out by increasing the internal temperature status at $30^{\circ}C$, $50^{\circ}C$, and $65^{\circ}C$. By a linear transformation of the lifespan data for each temperature, a constant value and activation energy coefficient was induced for the Arrhenius equation and verified by comparing the value of a lifetime prediction model with the experimental value at $85^{\circ}C$. The failure modes of the ongoing or finished test were leakage, bellows separation, and internal deformation. In the future, a composite lifespan prediction model, including two more stress factors, will be developed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.300-307
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• 2009

The transport of landfill leachate in the subsurface formations of unlined landfill sites is considered. The impacts of hydrogeological and chemical heterogeneities on the leachate transport are assessed by examining the results from a series of Monte-Carlo simulations. The landfill system simulated in this study is hypothetically represented with three levels of spatial variability for the hydrogeological and chemical parameter; (1) homogeneous hydraulic conductivity (K) and distribution coefficient ($K_d$), (2) K heterogeneity only, and (3) combined heterogeneities of K and $K_d$. To calculate the transport of leachate through negatively-correlated random hypothetical K-$K_d$ fields generated using geostatistical input parameters, a saturated flow model is linked with a contaminant transport model. Point statistic values such as mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation of the concentration were obtained from 100 Monte-Carlo trials. Results of point statistics show that the heterogeneities of K and $K_d$ in the landfill site prove to be an important parameter in controlling leachate concentrations. Consideration of combined K and $K_d$ heterogeneities results in enhancing the variability of contaminant transport. The variability in the leachate concentration for different realizations also increases as the distance between source and monitoring well increase.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.445-453
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• 2010

Energy loss at manholes, often exceeding friction loss of pipes under surcharged flow, is considered as one of the major causes of inundation in urban area. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze head losses at manholes, especially in case of surcharged flow. Hydraulic experimental apparatus which can change the manhole shape (square, circular) were installed for this study. In the experiments, two inflows ($Q_1,\;Q_2$) were varied from 0 to $4{\ell}$/sec and 15 combinations were tested in total. The flow ratios $Q_2/Q_3$ were varied from 0 to 1 for a total flow $Q_3$ ($Q_3=Q_1+Q_3$) of 2, 3, and $4{\ell}$/sec, respectively. The variation of head losses were strongly influenced by the lateral inflow because the head loss coefficient increases as the flow ratio $Q_2/Q_3$ increases. There was no significant difference of head loss between square manhole and circular one, and also no large variation of head loss as discharges change. The relation equations between K and $Q_2/Q_3$ were suggested in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.452-459
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• 2002

This paper addresses the hydrothermal reactivity of blast furnace slag and fly ash with lime, respectively. The test conditions were CaO-to-$SiO_2$ ratio (C/S), autoclaving temperature ($140{\circ}C$ and $180{\circ}C$) and time (20 to 60h). The study was carried out in terms of the hydrothermal reactivity between $SiO_2$ contained in each hydraulic material and (pure) lime and the compressive strength of autoclaved specimens. Porosity measurement and the XRD analysis were also made in order to ascertain the hydraulicity of the siliceous materials. Compressive strength of the specimens was interpreted in terms of porosity and the reactivity of CaO and $SiO_2$. And the XRD analysis showed the C/S change of the hydrates in the course of autoclaving process. $SiO_2$ in the blast furnace slag was more reactive with CaO than that in the fly ash and consequently the blast furnace slag specimens resulted in much higher compressive strength. A maximum compressive strength of $807kg/cm^2$ was obtained for the blast furnace slag at the autoclaving condition of $180{\circ}C$ and 40 h, while only $397kg/cm^2$ was maximally to achieve with fly ash.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 1995

This study was carried to investigate the biodegradability of phenol in the wastewater with the two sludge blanket-packed bed reactor in series. Each reactor had a dimension of 0.09 m i.d. and 1.5 m height and consisted of two regions. The lower region was a sludge blanket of 0.5 m height and the upper region was a packed-bed of 1 m height. The packed bed region was charged with ceramic raschig rings of 10 mm i.d., 15 mm o.d. and 20 mm length. The reactors were operated at 35$\circ$C and the hydraulic retention time(HRT) was maintained 24 hours. The synthetic wastewater composed of glucose and phenol as major components was fed into the reactor in a continuous mode with incereasing phenol concentration. In addition, the nutrient trace metals($Na^+, Mg^{2+}, Ca^{2+}, PO_4^{3-}, NH_4^+, Co^{2+}, Fe^{2+}$ etc.) were added for growing anaerobes. The phenol concentration of the effluent, the overall gas production, the composition of product gas, the efficiency of COD reduction and the duration of acclimation period were measured to determine the performance of the anaerobic wastewater treatment system as the phenol concentration of the influent was increased from 600 to 2400 mg//l. Successfully stable biodegradation of phenol could be achieved with the anaerobic treatment system from 600 to 1, 800 mg/l of the influent phenol concentration. The upper level of influent phenol loading was high enough to meet most of the practical requirement. The duration of acclimation increased with the phenol loading. At steady state of the influent phenol concentration of 1800 mg/l, the treatment performance indicated the phenol reduction efficiency of 99%, the COD reduction efficiency of 99% and the gas production rate of 37 l/day. At the influent phenol concentration of 2400 mg/l, however, the operation of the treatment system was noted unstable. While the concentration of methane in biogas decreased with increasing the influent phenol loading, the carbon dioxide was increased. However, the concentration of hydrogen was varied negligibly. The concentration of methane was high enough to be used as a fuel. As a result, it is suggested that anaerobic phenol wastewater treament was economical in the sense of energy recovery and wastewater treatment.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.711-719
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• 2016

In this study, we derived an theoretical equation, using a simplified spring-mass model for the rolling stock, to obtain the overriding behavior of a leading vehicle, which is considered as the main factor in train accidents. To verify the derived equation, we created a simple 2D model based on the theoretical model, and a simple 3D model considering the characteristics of the power bogie. We then compared the theoretical results with the simulation results obtained using LS-DYNA. The maximum relative derivations in the vertical displacements at the first end-buffer, which is the most important point in overriding, were 3.5 [%] and 1.7 [%] between the two results. Further, we evaluated collision-induced overriding displacements using the theoretical equation for a rubber draft gear, a hydraulic buffer under various collision conditions. We have suggested a theoretical approach for the realization of overriding collision accidents or the energy absorption design of the front end of trains.